Island of Oahu
If you are coming to Oahu you should stay in Waikiki. Don't stay anywhere else unless you have to. There are a few Hotels in places other than Waikiki but they are either too rundown, too expensive or both.
If you decide to stay in a place other than Waikiki, rent a car, get ready to overpay big time and make sure you like to be far from everything.
Waikiki
Waikiki is definitely the place to go if you are planing to stay on Oahu. A car might be a good idea if you want to go to the beach often because even though you can go to Kuhio beach (that is the real name for Waikiki Beach) for which you will need no car, the best beaches for sunbathing and regular ocean going activities are Waimanalo Beach and Kailua Beach (Windward side of the island).
The only thing to keep in mind is that all but one hotel in Waikiki charge extra for parking. If you are more into sightseeing, it might be a better idea to buy some guided tours, specially if you only have a few days to stay.
The "price" of being too choosy
It is OK to have all the requests that you "need", just remember that since not all Hotels have everything, the more requests you have, the less Hotels you have to choose from and if you are trying to save money, less choices is the last thing you want to have.
You should make a list of things that you "must have" (not to confuse with things that "would be nice to have") and stick to your original list.
Making such a list is not difficult and here are some of the things you should keep in mind.
Things to keep in mind when looking for a Hotel in Waikiki
• Location
• View
• Noise level
• Type of bedding
• Smoking / Nonsmoking rooms
• Room Size
• Lanai (Balcony)
• Maximum number of people per room.
• Business Traveler?
• Pool, Sauna, Jacuzzi
• Refrigerator, coffee maker and other cooking facilities
• Parking
• Fitness Center
• Breakfast
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Location: ........................................................................................................(return to top)
Waikiki is very small but depending on your main plans some areas may be better than others.
Center: Waikiki is less than a mile long and a maximum of 4 blocks wide (400 yards), everything is walking distance, however the "heart" of Waikiki are the Red and the Blue areas of our Waikiki map these are the areas with the highest activity level.
Don't forget however that no matter where in Waikiki you stay, you are only a few minutes away from the center.
Beach front: There are approximately 100 Hotels in the Waikiki area, only 10 of them front Waikiki beach.
Even though only five of them are 4 Stars, they are all priced as if they were 4 stars, if you are unsure of a Waikiki Hotel's category rating, find it in our Waikiki map.
Non beach front: A normal person takes 2 minutes to walk a block (100 yards), therefore a Hotel located 1, 2 or even 3 blocks away from the beach is still very close and the price difference for the same Hotel quality is very big.
Quiet places: Please refer to Noise level if noise and high activity level is a concern for you.
Conventions: If you are planning to attend a convention taking place at the Convention Center, it is a good idea to stay towards the West side of Waikiki (locals call it "Ewa side") or the green and the white color areas of our Waikiki map.
Shopping: Green and white color areas of the Waikiki map are also a good choice if shopping is your main reason for visiting, since you would be within walking distance from the largest Shopping Center in the State of Hawaii, the Ala Moana Shopping Center.
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View: ...............................................................................................................(return to top)
A nice view is a very important asset for a Hotel and is always mentioned in the name the Hotel has for that specific room category.
The following are the most common names that Waikiki Hotels give to the views that can be seen from their rooms and what they mean for you. Be advise however that there is no entity regulating the veracity of these claims, most Hotels are pretty honest about it but there are a few that are not.
Ocean Front: This is the best and most expensive view in a Hotel. Only Hotels that are by the ocean can offer you a real ocean front room, you should have an unrestricted view of the ocean even from inside the room.
Ocean View: Hotels up to a block away from the beach may be able to offer you this category, you should have an almost unrestricted view of the ocean from the balcony or window.
Partial Ocean View: Your view of the ocean will be very restricted, if this is the only difference with a Mountain or City View room, you may not want to pay more for it.
Mountain View: Do not discard this view just because you can't see the ocean, the mountains are quite beautiful and the rooms tend to be cooler.
City View or Garden View: Means No View.
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Noise level: ........................................................................................... ....... ..(return to top)
Waikiki is a high density urban area, therefore noise is an ever-present factor.
High traffic/high activity areas go hand by hand with high noise level areas.
Lower noise/lower activity areas are all of the yellow and the back portions of the white, red and blue areas, between Kuhio Ave. and Ala Wai Ave. of our Waikiki map.
Just keep in mind that "Lower noise" does not mean "No noise".
Make sure that whoever is looking for a Hotel for you knows about your noise concerns if you have them.
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Type of bedding: ............................................................................................(return to top)
Type of bedding is one of the last things people think about when choosing a Hotel. That is fine if you don't mind the size of the bed you will end up sleeping on but considering that a 1/3 of your vacation will be spent on a bed, you may want to make sure that the Hotel has the type of bed you want in the category you are requesting.
Most people assume that all Hotels will have either two Queen beds or one King bed, like on the mainland USA, unfortunately that is not true in Hawaii.
For a regular Hotel room, there are 6 types of bedding that you will find in Waikiki:
- 2 Twin beds (also called "single" beds).
- 1 Double bed.
- 2 Double beds
- 1 Queen bed.
- 1 King bed
- One double + one Twin beds.
Not all Hotels have all types of beds and at most Hotels, type of bedding is "on request" but they need to have it available in the category that you want, to be able to request it in the first place, so if the type of bedding is important for you, make sure that your agent knows about it
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Smoking / Nonsmoking rooms: ....................................................................(return to top)
On January 16th. 2007 a new smoking law went into effect in Honolulu. It is one of the strictest laws of it's kind in the country. Very few Hotels now have smoking rooms and since the law requires smokers to be over 19 feet away from any door, window or opening of a building, smoking on your room's balcony or Lanai is not an option anymore. In fact the law is so strict that even applies to open air public places that happen to have a wall or walls partially enclosing them. Needless to say that smoking is not permitted in restaurants, bars, Shopping centers and private areas open to the public.
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Room Size: ......................................................................................................(return to top)
Room size is a real problem in Hawaii if you are coming from the US, Canada and Europe because rooms here tend to be smaller than in those places. This doesn't seem to be a problem for visitors from Asia.
If you are one or two people, vacationing for 2 to 5 days in Waikiki, using your room mostly as a place to go back to at night, take a shower and then go to sleep, a small room might not be a big deal, however if you are more than 2, staying longer or you here on a business trip, you may want to have more space, if that is the case, there are some categories in some Hotels that are more spacious, make sure you take that into consideration when you choose a Hotel.
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Lanai (Balcony): ............................................................................................(return to top)
All rooms have at least windows, but if having a Lanai (balcony) in your room is important for you make sure that the room you are booking has one since it is possible to find rooms in Waikiki without a Lanai, in every single category, from one to four Stars. Even more so there are some Hotels that have certain rooms offered as if they have Lanais when in fact what they have are floor to ceiling windows with a railing, in other words you can't "step outside" on to the balcony. This is something that some people expecting a Lanai don't like.
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Maximum number of people per room.: ......................................................(return to top)
Hotel Rooms or Studios:
Most Hotel Rooms and Studio rates are based on double occupancy using existing bedding, however family plans are available for those traveling with children under the age of 17 (a few Hotels consider children only under 12 years of age). A third and a fourth adult in the room will be charged extra whether existing beds are used or a rollaway bed is provided.
The maximum number of people in any one room, allowable by the Fire Code is 4, regardless of their ages.
One bedrooms:
For most One Bedrooms Suites the rates normally are based on up to 4 adults using existing bedding.
Even though by law up to 6 people could stay in a one Bedroom Suite, many Hotels only allow a maximum of 4 or 5 people regardless of their age.
In the event that more than 4 adults are allowed in a One Bedroom Suite, the fifth and sixth adult will be charged extra. family plan also applies in this case.
Two bedrooms:
For most Two Bedroom Suites the rates normally are based on up to 6 adults using existing bedding.
Two bedroom suites are not very common, as a precaution, make sure you find out in advance what you have included and what you don't.
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Business Traveler: ..........................................................................................(return to top)
Most Business Travelers have certain needs that make them unique and not all Hotels in Waikiki can accommodate those needs, among the things you can expect to find in certain Waikiki Hotels that can make your life easier are:
- More spacious rooms with desks or tables.
- Extra phone jack for your computer hookup.
- Free local calls.
- Business centers.
- Fitness centers.
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Pool, Sauna, Jacuzzi: ............................................................ ....................... (return to top)
Some people assume that all Hotels in Waikiki have a pool, unfortunately that is not true, what is even more important, is that in most cases even the ones that have pools, have very small ones.
Hotels know that for some people a Hotel without a pool is a big turn off and under many rating organizations (Star rating, Diamond rating, etc..), lack of a pool can decrease the Hotel's rating significantly, but since most of these organizations do not take into consideration the size of the pool, they set out to build tiny pools to qualify. There is nothing wrong with having a small pool as long as you know about it.
Keep in mind that smaller than normal pools are very common in Waikiki.
Fortunately in each category, there are some Hotels that have decent pool areas and there are some 2, 3 and 4 Star Hotels that also have Jacuzzis and Saunas as well. So if a nice pool area is a big factor, make sure that you agent knows about it or if you are doing your own research to make your own reservations, ask all the questions you need to avoid disappointments.
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Refrigerator, coffee maker and other cooking facilities: ............................(return to top)
Due to the tropical nature of the Hawaiian Islands a refrigerator in the room is definitively a good idea and most One to Four Star Hotels will have one even though it may be a small. Some Hotels will include also a coffee maker and even a microwave oven and/or a couple of burners.
If you need a complete kitchen however, there are only a few Hotels in Waikiki that can offer a complete real kitchen, let your agent know what facilities you need in the room to be sure that you will have them.
Be aware that Hotels have the tendency to abuse the terms kitchenette and kitchen. If certain cooking facilities are needed, make sure that either you or your agent do the necessary homework to avoid unpleasant surprises.
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Parking:............................................................................................................(return to top)
Parking is a precious commodity in Waikiki, almost all Hotels in Waikiki have parking and almost all Hotels charge for it from $15 to $20 per day. Some even have mandatory valet parking on top of the parking fee what ends up increasing the expense since there will be tips involved each time you ask or drop off your car, make sure to let your agent know your needs regarding parking because these little incidentals can easily add up.
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Fitness Center:.................................................................................................(return to top)
There is a large Gym, on Kalakaua Ave., within the blue area of our Waikiki map that can be used for a daily fee, however if you only need something small to keep you in shape for your stay, some 2, 3 and 4 star Hotels do provide such facilities, some for free of charge and others for a fee.
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Breakfast:.........................................................................................................(return to top)
To include breakfast is not a common practice for Hotels in Waikiki however some One and Two Star Hotels include a small Continental Breakfast.
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